8 May 2023 09:48 am Views - 676
By Nirmala Kannangara
Questions have been raised why the Ministry of Defence fails to stop the administration of the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) and its affiliated hospital - the University Hospital of the Kotelawala Defence University (UH-KDU) from engaging in corrupt activities that have brought the reputation of the two institutions to the lowest level in its long-standing history.
Secretary Ministry of Defence Major General Kamal Gunaratne who heads the Board of Management (BoM) of the KDU has come under severe criticism for getting approvals through the BoM for any proposal brought by his one-time colleague the Vice-Chancellor (VC) Maj. Gen. Milinda Peiris.
As a result, Gen Peiris is accused of purchasing costly medical equipment without following proper procurement guidelines, improper investiture of Professorships to Consultants who have joined KDU after retirement as fully-fledged professors and allowing certain academic staff members to violate the Establishment Code.
Although the UH-KDU is facing severe medicinal drug shortages and even a situation where papers are not available to write prescriptions, Gen. Peiris is accused of spending millions of rupees to construct a large auditorium to hold convocations and also millions of Australian Dollars to obtain an Australian Accreditation to the University Hospital in a most dubious manner.
“The Committee of Public Enterprises (COPE) recently instructed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to propose required legal provisions to prevent titles of doctorates and professorships being misused by various institutions. Although the Chairman of the UGC is a member of the BoM, he has so far not raised his concern against Gen. Peiris for these improper investitures at KDU.